


The Barletts-The Start

by Flossy2003



Series: The Barletts [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23528524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flossy2003/pseuds/Flossy2003
Summary: Cassandra and her adoptive father have set off to find her destiny. However an event, involving Cassandra's biological father, takes over their lives, landing her completely alone in very frightening circumstances.
Series: The Barletts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782004
Comments: 45
Kudos: 52





	1. Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Since my country (UK) is in lockdown due to the Coronavirus, I have been given plenty of time to work on some fics as well as watch a lot of Tangled. 
> 
> This story begins to take place about two months after the episode, Plus Est En Vous and follows the story of Cassandra's meeting with her biological father. 
> 
> I took some inspiration from Count Olaf from Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events, for Cassandra's father's personality, later in the story, so don't get too attached to him. 
> 
> I do not own Tangled or it's characters.   
> This story is also on Wattpad.

Chapter 1- Destiny 

Cassandra held Fidella's reigns steady, as she stared out at her beautiful surroundings. She had never realized how wondrous the world was, she had never really stopped to admire it, she couldn't imagine how amazed Rapunzel was when she went outside her tower for the first time. She was in the middle of a glorious-looking forest. The trees were extremely tall, with bright leaves and bird nests deep within them. From where she was, she could see a tall, grand-looking building overlooking the greenery. She couldn't help wondering who it belonged to.

It was early morning and her adoptive father, the former captain of the Royal Guards: Harold, was still fast asleep in the tent they had set up the night before, so Cassandra had left a note on his pillow so that he wouldn't worry. He had raised and cared for Cassandra since she was only four-years-old and loved her dearly.  
He had taught her so many things, such as, how to defend herself, how to manage weapons without getting hurt, how to earn her keep and that she needed to focus on the here and now, a lesson, which he, only recently, had encouraged Cassandra to abandon.

When he first adopted Cassandra, he had struggled to adapt to the fatherly role, completely unsure of how to take care of a little girl and pander to her ever-growing needs.  
He had been especially stuck when it came to Cassandra's long, black tresses, he tried to do plaits but they came out straggly and lopsided, he tried a ponytail, but the ribbon would just fall out. The last thing he had tried was a topknot, which just unravelled itself mere moments after it was done up. Needless to say, he was relieved when the girl had decided that she wanted a bob, a few years later.  
He had also found things, such as buying dresses in the correct sizes and colours hard, as he chose ones that were either miles too small, so that she could barely put them on, too big so that they completely swamped her tiny body, or in colours that she despised, such as, pink.  
However, after about a year, he found that he had finally got the hang of being a good father.

While he never spoiled, Cassandra, he did provide her with enough toys and books to keep her entertained and out of trouble. She had a big teddy bear, a group of wooden horses, a china Unicorn, a bunch of crayons in different colours, a doll with wavy, dark-brown hair, pursed lips, and bright green eyes, dressed in a blue, frilly frock, and a multi-coloured spinning top, with paintings of birds around the edges, that she would take everywhere.

Around the age of seven, Cassandra was labelled as a strange, mischievous child. She liked to prank people, play hide and seek, challenge the royal guards to races, (which she usually won), perform cartwheels, climb up objects and learn about what it takes to become a guard, herself one day. She had been training since she was six, which some thought was too early, but Cassandra didn't care, she loved it.

The girl also had a sweet tooth, constantly lugging Harold to Monty's Sweet Shoppe, where Monty would treat her to bonbons, marshmallows, and all kinds of chocolate. The guards would also provide her with sweets, after every training session, which Harold would have to monitor, to make sure that Cass didn't rot her teeth.

Sometimes, Harold would have to go away with his guards on long missions (mostly related to the lost princess, Rapunzel), so Cassandra would feel very lonely during those times, especially since she didn't have many friends of her age. So, her father had decided to buy her a pet, to keep her company. The kind of pet he had in mind, was something like a dog, cat or maybe a gopher, but the pet that Cassandra really wanted, was an owl, so an owl was what she got, only if she promised to look after it. She named him Owl since she couldn't think of anything else. She was terrible at names, for instance, she had named her previously mentioned doll and teddy bear, Dolly and Bear.

Around the time she got Owl, she was being taught how to ride a horse, which she was really enjoying. She treated Owl and the horses with very much respect, and they grew to get used to her and view her as a fellow companion. She was very good with animals. She still was.

"Hey, Owl, how are you doing, buddy?" She cooed, as Owl gently landed on her shoulder and snuggled into her cheek. He hooted, when he saw the view his mistress was staring at, even he thought it was beautiful.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She smiled, running her fingers through Fidella's dark mane. Fidella neighed excitedly in response.

"Now, before we go exploring, I think we need some breakfast."

Cassandra dug into her pocket and pulled out an apple; she leapt from Fidella's back and quickly diced it with her sword.

"Ta-da! Eight perfect slices!" She announced, grinning.

She passed the slices around, three for Fidella, three for Owl, and two for her, since her father would be making oatmeal, with blueberries and strawberries on the top, her favourite.

As she chewed the slice, savouring its sweetness, she sat down and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. It was a letter to Rapunzel, that she had scribed a couple of nights ago. She was intending to post it that afternoon since she and Harold were planning on visiting a nearby village to get some supplies for their travels.

She smiled as she read the letter to herself, knowing that Rapunzel would greatly appreciate it.

All of a sudden, Fidella's startled whines pulled her out of her reading. She looked up to see a large figure, looming over her. The figure's face was completely hidden by a metal helmet, which was not unlike Atilla's.

Cassandra quickly retrieved her sword from her back pocket and held it in front of her in order to defend herself. She took several steps back, signalling to Fidella to do the same.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" She growled.

The figure didn't say anything, it just removed its helmet, releasing a grunt as it did so. The figure turned out to be a middle-aged man, with dark black eyes, a mop of light brown hair, that had been swept back and when Cassandra looked carefully, she could see a small gold earring, not so different to Lance's, sticking out of his left ear.

"Lower your sword, girl, you could seriously hurt someone with that." he sneered, knocking her sword out of her hand and into some thorny bushes. Without giving Cassandra a chance to respond to his actions, he continued, "my name is Philip Sonburg, the respected bodyguard of Sir William Barlett and I was just out on my morning stroll when I spotted you and wondered why such a pretty girl and her..."

He paused, spying Owl, who was resting on Cassandra's shoulder looking ready to attack, before continuing.

"...pets, were doing around these parts."

By this time, Fidella had galloped off.

"That's none of your business." Cassandra snapped.

The name: Barlett, stuck like a thumbtack in her head. She was sure that she had heard it before, but she wasn't sure where.

Philip glowered at the young woman in front of him.

"I would mind your tone if I were you, girl." He snarled.

He was about to reach into his shoulder bag for his dagger when a voice caught his attention.

"Philip!" The voice called. It was slightly gravelly but very proper and rich sounding at the same time, "what on earth are you doing?"

Philip and Cassandra turned to see a man, roughly 5ft4, running towards them. He had dark-brown, slicked-back hair, pastel-blue eyes, that glinted in the sunlight and a large, thick beard that took up all of his chin. He was dressed in a muddy brown suit jacket, a crisp white shirt and pitch-black tight trousers, with matching shoes. To finish the look, he had a small black and brown, striped bowtie, dangling from his collar.

"Sir William! I..." Philip started.

William held up a hand, to signal that he didn't want to hear anymore.

"Who is this girl, Philip?" He asked, glaring at Cassandra, "and why does she have an owl on her shoulder?

"I don't know, Sir. I just came across her and her bird, while I was walking! She pointed a sword at me!"

"Of course I did! Who wouldn't when they see a tall, brooding figure in a metal helmet looming over them?!" Cassandra hissed.

William turned to look at Cassandra, and then back at Philip, a small smile growing across his features.

"She has a point, Philip," He said, as softly as he could, "I am so sorry, that my bodyguard has troubled you, my dear, please let me make up for it with a cuppa."

Due to her trust issues and a recent event in her life, that had something to do with a certain evil force manipulating her to believe terrible things, she wasn't entirely sure if she should have faith in this man. Was he really going to make up for it, or was it just a vile trick?

"I'm sorry, but I need to get back, my..." She began but was interrupted by William's mealy vocals.

"Oh, I insist, it's the least I can do."

Cassandra bit her lip, as she heard a voice in her head scream: "Stop it! Stop being so paranoid! Not everyone is out to harm you!" 

"Alright," she breathed, giving Owl a small boop on the beak to reassure him, that everything was fine, "thank you for your kindness."

William noticed the glint of Cassandra's sword in the bushes and gestured to his bodyguard.

"Philip, please retrieve the young lady's sword at once."

"Yes, sir," Philip replied, glaring at Cassandra, as he slumped off.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

A loud neigh from outside the tent shook Harold from his slumber.

He sat up in his sleeping bag and ran into Cassandra's area to wake her, only to find that she was gone.

"No, no, no! Not again, I can't lose her again!"

He frantically searched around the large tent for his daughter and at long last, noticed the piece of parchment resting on his pillow. He grabbed it, terrified that it was a ransom note or something along those lines, only to find that it was a note from Cassandra herself. It read:

Dad, I've just gone for a ride of Fidella. I'll be back before breakfast.  
Love from, Cass. xxx 

The note calmed hin, but not for very long, as the neighing grew louder and more anxious.

He threw on some clothes and ran outside. He wasn't expecting to come face to face with a worried Fidella, neither was he expecting Cassandra to be nowhere around.

"Where is she, girl?" He asked, stroking Fidella, gently, before getting onto her back.

Fidella instantly began to gallop as fast as she was able, giving Harold a minimal amount of time to grab her reigns.

"Whoa, careful, Fidella!" He gasped, clinging on for dear life.

In a nick of time, they arrived in the forest, but Cassandra, nor Philip was in sight.

Fidella looked around in distress, panicking for her mistress.

"She was here?" Harold asked, examining his surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of his daughter.

Fidella whined in response.

In the corner of his eye, Harold could see a mansion, looking out over the woodland. Maybe she was in there? The place looked eerie to him. Honestly gave him the creeps.  
It was made of grey stone, four stories tall, with two attic rooms that were visible from the front of the house. The large, front garden that surrounded the house was the only appealing thing about it.

"It's worth a try." Harold mumbled to himself, carefully climbing off Fidella's back, "stay here, girl, I won't be gone long."

As he approached the large, brass gates that lead to the estate, he felt a chill run down his spine. The chill lingered as he walked down the garden path, and towards the front double doors, which had a knocker in the shape of a bear in the middle of the left one.  
On one hand, he was hoping that Cassandra was there because he'd be scared out of his wits about her whereabouts if she wasn't, on the other hand, he hoped that she wasn't trapped in this terrible-looking place. Who knew what kind of people lived there.

"Can I be of assistance, Sir?" Came a timid female voice.

Harold made eye contact with a short, chubby woman with long, blonde hair and rosy cheeks. She was gripping a basket of wet clothes in her weak-looking hands. She looked exhausted, and the smile she was giving him was very plastic.

"I'm sorry, I was just looking for my daughter. She's rather small-built, with pale skin and dark, bobbed hair?"

The woman looked thoughtful. She smiled at him again, this time the smile wasn't as fake as before, it looked warmer.

"I think so, I think I saw her with Sir William, going into the mansion. I'll go and find her if you like?"

"Yes, that would be great. Thank you," Harold said, "would you like me to take that laundry for you?"

"Oh, no thank you, dear, Sir would kill me if he thought that I wasn't doing my job properly. I'll just leave it here and come back to it."

Her fake smile returned, as she dashed off towards the servant's entrance of the house. Harold could only stare after her, wondering if she was alright.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Cassandra carefully sipped the tea from the tiny porcelain cup she had been given. It reminded her of the ones she had seen the king, queen and Rapunzel drink from back at the palace. Her former home.

She and William had been sitting in silence for a while. He hadn't even asked for her name. In order to entertain herself, Cassandra began to gaze around the large living room, admiring its curious beauty. The walls were decorated in dark blue and gold, the floor was the fluffiest, white carpet she'd ever felt belief her feet, and the objects placed around the room looked extremely expensive.

There were three paintings on the wall above, the large, stone fireplace: one of a child with long, curly, dark hair in a braid. She was dressed in an ivory gown, that hung by her feet, which were clad in matching, shining slippers. She was clearly his child, the resemblance was uncanny, however, there was something in her face which reminded her of herself. In fact, there was also something in William's features that reminded her of herself, but she couldn't pin-point what.

She shook it off and looked to the next painting. It looked much more recent. It was William, with who she assumed was his wife, who had long, dirty-blonde, wavy hair, sharp brown eyes and lips pressed into a fine line. In between the couple was the girl from the previous painting, who looked a lot older. There really was something there, that she wasn't sure she liked very much. 

Once again, though, she shook it off and moved onto the next painting. However, as her eyes met it, she really wished they hadn't.

She couldn't control the shocked scream that arose from her throat.

Her mother, Gothel, was glaring right back at her.

"What's wrong, child?" William asked.

"Don't tell him anything," A voice in her brain seethed, "he wouldn't understand!" 

"No...nothing! Sorry, I thought I saw a...um...spider, but I didn't, it was just my imagination!" She lied, stumbling on her words. Even if it hadn't been a lie and she really had seen a spider, she wouldn't have screamed, she wasn't scared of spiders or any kind of insect unless they were poisoned.

"I see." He replied. He clearly didn't believe her, "I also saw that you were taking great interest in my paintings. The first is my daughter, Violet, who is a lot older now, the second is her with my wife, Etta and I, and the last one..."

There was a long, agonizing pause. William frowned, looking solum.

"The last is of my previous relationship and my poor child. Over twenty years ago, I met her in a pub, we got talking, and she told me her name, Gothel. We dated for several years and married in 1812. Two years later, Gothel fell pregnant. We had a little girl, and she chose her name. It was something like, Clarissa, Christine, Caroline..."

"Cassandra. Her name is Cassandra." Cassandra replied, without thinking twice.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I am her. I am Cassandra...Gothel is my...mother." She said, bitterly, feeling slightly nauseous as she uttered the words Gothel and mother in the same sentence.  
William stared at her, a stunned expression on his face.

"Cassandra?" He asked, "is it really you?"

"I think so," she muttered, "but if it is true, and I am your daughter, I want to know why I didn't grow up in your care and why you never bothered to find me, after all these years."

"Oh, Cl...Cassandra, I promise you, I never wanted to leave you, my darling. You were so beautiful, still are, and I loved you so much, still do, but your mother and I never did have the happiest of marriages. We fought like cat and dog, making you cry all the time. It terrified you, but your mother just wouldn't stop."

"I can believe that." Cassandra murmured, knowing full-well that Gothel had never cared for her or Rapunzel.

"I found out her secret one night, I found out about the flower that kept her young, and I freaked. She wasn't the lady I thought she was and I felt so betrayed, that I thought that it would be best to leave. I tried to get you from your crib and take you with me, but she did everything within her power to prevent me from doing so. I had to give up. I'm so, deeply sorry, my love."

"It's ok." Cassandra said, softly, "it wasn't your fault."

"I promised myself that I would find you again," he continued as if Cassandra had never spoken, "and now I think I have."

Then, William did something unexpected. He stood up and opened his arms out to her, a wide grin across his face.

At first, Cassandra hesitated, the trauma of her past and fear of being abandoned came flooding into her mind. But then she looked at the warmth and excitement in William's face. He was so happy to see her after all the time they had spent apart. She knew how to defend herself, she had her sword on her, so if he tried to hurt her, she would be okay.

She entered the embrace and waited for him to do something horrible, like stab her in her back with a dagger, like Andrew had tried to do two years prior. But nothing happened, she was released from the hug, completely unscathed.

"So, are you still living with your mother, or do you have a family of your own now?"

Cassandra bit her lip, feeling anxiety swell-up in the pit of her belly.

"Neither. I was adopted by an army captain, when I was four, mother abandoned me. She still the Princess of the Kingdom of Corona, and chose her over me. I am best friends with the princess now, although, what mother did tore us apart for a while, to put it simply. I did some absolutely disgraceful things to people I loved during that time, under the control of an evil force, and the powerful moonstone."

Cassandra didn't see, William's face, curl into a malicious simper since he snapped out of quickly and replaced it with a warm smile.

"I see. I would like to meet this captain." He said, completely disregarding what Cassandra had just said about Rapunzel.

"His name is Harold, and I'm sure he'll like to meet you too. He'll be glad that I found a member of my biological family, I'm sure."

"I hope so."

At that moment, a voice sounded in the doorway. It was a chubby woman, with long, blonde hair.

"Sir William, there's someone looking for this girl? He says he's her father."

"Ah, the captain," William beamed, "send him in."

Cassandra felt a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long while: hope. Hope for the future. She had finally found her destiny: her father.  
Or so she thought...


	2. Nightmares, suspicions and schemes

Saturday-

"Cassandra..."  
"Cassandra..."  
Cassandra groaned as she opened her eyes, she could feel something cold and hard against her back. She could barely see anything it was so dark, however she could just about make out a brick wall next to her. She was in her flimsy, light-blue pyjamas and light-brown slippers, which explained why she was so cold.

She propped herself up on her elbows and tried to get a better look at her surroundings. She tilted her head upwards and saw a barred window high above her.

"What?" She muttered, "where am I? What is this place?"

She got up and felt her heart skip several beats as her eyes laid on a large, barred cell-door. Her face fell in fear, then again, if she was in prison, she knew that she deserved it.

"Do you really want to find out?" 

That voice. No. It couldn't be, could it?

It was.

She suddenly appeared in her little girl form, sneering at her through the bars of the door. Zhan-Tiri.

Cassandra had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming.

"Z...Z...Zhan...Tiri?" She gasped out, "I don't understand, you were defeated!"

The wicked demon grinned, taking great pleasure in watching the young woman's fear.

"Don't worry, Cassandra, everything will become clear very soon..."

All of a sudden, black rocks began to rise from the cracks in the floor at a rapid speed. They gathered around Cassandra's feet and began to cling to her, holding her in place.

"AHH!" Cassandra yelled, struggling.

More rocks climbed up her body, restraining her.

"Let me go!" She shrieked, her heart racing, "somebody help, me!" 

The rocks continued to ascend, gripping her around the waist, chest and pinning her arms to her sides, squeezing her. She tried to scream for help, but it came out as a barely audible whisper.

A rock pressed itself against her neck, denying her of even more oxygen.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a lock of her ebony hair begin to glow a bright turquoise. She felt a sharp pain in her chest, as the moonstone was forcefully pressed into it.

"No, please!" She managed to cry, "please, not this again!"

Cassandra closed her eyes and squirmed, praying silently that she could break free. More black rocks held her down, suffocating her even more. It reminded her of when she had been grabbed by the Automaton, it also reminded of her of when she had been seized by Zhan-Tiri, before being thrown across the room like a rag doll.

"You can struggle, you can fight, but you can never escape from me! You need to submit yourself to me." 

"I will never submit to you!"

"You don't have a choice, I'm afraid. You're going to help me destroy Corona, Rapunzel and all of your so-called, friends, whether you like it or not!"

The rocks gripped her tighter, disabling every move she tried to make. Zhan-Tiri's words echoed in her ears, blocking out every other sound, including her own trembling breaths.

"NO!" She howled before everything went black.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

"NO, NO, NO!"

Cassandra bolted upright, in mid-scream. She was bathed in a cold sweat, her fringe sticking to her head, her body violently shaking, her body had gone into full meltdown mode. She was in total shock.

It took her a few moments to realise that the rocks were no longer squeezing her and that she was completely safe in her bed in the tent.

Her shouts had alerted Owl, who was perched on her blanketed knee, his head cocked.

"Sorry, buddy," she said, holding out her arm for him to land on, "I didn't mean to wake you."

Owl hooted softly, nuzzling his warm head into her flushed cheek. He knew why she had screamed, she had been having nightmares for months.

Cassandra felt tears roll down her cheeks, an after-effect of her shocked state. She began to sob a little. Vivid memories of her night terror flashed before her eyes. She buried her face in her hands, the ends of her short hair tickling them. She'd had terrible nightmares before, each one had been petrifying, but unlike the others, this one had felt horrifyingly real.

The zip on her camping room door, hastily opened, making her look up.

"Cassandra, are you alright?!" Harold asked, practically running into the room.

It was clear to see that he hadn't been sleeping very well either, his mind was too occupied with worrying thoughts about his daughter and that William, who was claiming to be her real father. He was dreading going to dinner the following day, but he had promised Cassandra that he would give William a chance, and he didn't want to let her down. She was excited to find a member of her biological family, who seemed to actually want to care and nurture her, who would Harold be if he denied her that? That girl deserved any love she could get.

Her face was flushed bright-red, dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her hair was stuck to her forehead, which was sweating. He had never seen her look so terrible.

"I think so." Cassandra replied. Owl frowned at her. He hated it when she lied.

"Honey," He said, perching on the end of her sleeping bag, "you don't look very well."

She bit her lip, knowing that she couldn't hide it from him.

"Was it another nightmare?" He asked, placing his hand on her cheek.

Cassandra didn't reply, she just wrapped her arms around Harold's waist and laid her head on his chest.

"I'm scared." She said, her voice trembling.

Harold hadn't heard those words come from her mouth in years. Since the age of about, ten, Cassandra had adopted a tactic of bottling-up her emotions, how she really felt. Harold felt very responsible for that since he was the one who had given her such a disciplinary upbringing.

He remembered a time when she was only twelve years old: she had been riding one of the horses around the guard's yard, when the horse encountered a bird, flying quickly across the front of it. It had been spooked, and bucked around, causing Cassandra to be flung off it's back. Harold and a few other members of the household had heard her screams and came running, worried that something terrible had happened, only to find Cassandra trying to haul herself up, hiding her winces of pain.  
Her back was black and blue, and it clearly hurt when she took a breath, but she didn't complain or even cry. When she was a bit older, a similar incident had happened at The Contest of the Crowns, her horse got spooked and flung her off. She landed in a puddle of mud, dirtying her light-blue dress and slightly hurting her head and chest, but again, she hadn't made a fuss.

Many physical and emotional injuries had occurred throughout the years, such as a broken leg, a burnt hand and being shown her mother's treachery first-hand by a wicked demon, but she had kept it close to her vest and didn't tell anyone how she really felt, which had lead to her falling for the aforementioned demon's wicked scheme.

Apparently, she had opened up to Rapunzel when they were trapped in Zhan-Tiri's prison together and let everything that had been building up, flow out, but she had never opened up to him, blatantly before. When she had been sent to a convent, she did open up a little but didn't get enough time to talk about everything playing on her mind.

"I'm scared, dad." She repeated.

Her voice snapped Harold back to reality. He looked at his adoptive child and stroked her hair back.

"I know, sweetie. It's hard to get past everything that's happened, but I've told you before that it's very natural to feel upset and get nightmares..."

"I know, but this one felt so...so...real! I could feel myself being squeezed by the black rocks, the moonstone plating itself into my chest, I tried to get away but I wasn't strong enough! Zhan-Tiri kept telling me to stop fighting and give into her! I didn't know what to do!" She blurted out, feeling a flood of tears rush down her face.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm sorry." Harold said gently, running his hand up and down her back.

"Dad, I can't help but wonder," She paused, "what will my father and his new family think of me. If they heard about all the stuff I did, all the nightmares I've been having, what would they say? They wouldn't want to know me, would they? I wouldn't blame them, though, besides my mother never loved me, so...why would he be any different? What reasons would he have to love..."

Cassandra yelped as she was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and forced to look into Harold's brown eyes.

"If he doesn't love you, then he will have me to answer to. While none of the things you did is excusable, you were being manipulated and strung along against your will, and you have to remember that none of those things defines you as a person, Cassandra. You are an amazing, brave, warm-hearted young lady. You sacrificed yourself for the kingdom of Corona, you will stop at nothing to protect someone from harm, and you have passion in everything that you do. That is the Cassandra I know and love, and your father better, get to know and love her too, or else."

A small smile appeared on the woman's face, the red flush in her cheeks was calming down, allowing her skin to revert back to its usual pale complexion.

"Thank you." She said, wiping her eyes.

"Not a problem, kiddo."

The two hugged for a while longer until Cassandra felt that she was able to go back to sleep.

"Goodnight, dad. I love you." She said, helping Owl onto his perch, and pulling her duvet over herself.

"Goodnight, sweetie, I love you too. Everything will be fine tomorrow, I promise." He said, before leaving the room.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Eugene combed his hair in front of the large mirror in the room he and Rapunzel now shared. It had only been a matter of weeks since Rapunzel became his wife and he was on cloud nine.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried, who had just walked into the room, after being called away by the royal messenger.

"Sunshine, are you okay?"

"I'm great, we've just got a letter from Cass!" She cheered, thrusting a piece of paper into his hands, "read it, it's so incredible!"

Eugene scanned the page,

Dear Raps, Eugene and the rest of the gang,  
I have some news, that is wonderful, but also quite scary at the same time: I've found my birth father!  
His name is Sir William Barlett and while he has a new family now, he's so excited to get to know me after all these years!  
My father and I are going to have dinner with him and his family on Sunday, so I'll let you know how that goes. I'm quite nervous.  
How are you all doing?  
Lots of love from, Cass xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

he went pale.

"Eugene? What's wrong?" Rapunzel asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"She's said that her father is Sir William Barlett. That is not good news."

"Why not?"

"William was a very good friend of the Baron, he would help him kill his enemies, it's a miracle that they lost contact before Lance and I became thieves, otherwise, I don't think we'd be alive today. Cass could be in grave danger and we need to warn her before it's too late."

Rapunzel felt her pulse begin to speed up, she felt sick, thinking about how Cassandra had died in battle against Zhan-Tiri and how it was a miracle that she had lived. There were no healing powers to save her if anything did happen to her. They needed to act, fast.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

*DING!* *DONG!* *DING!*

Harold yanked his hand away from the doorbell in surprise, the ghastly, defining sound echoing in and out of his ears. He resisted the burning temptation to grab Cassandra, get on Fidella and ride straight back to the tent. But he didn't want to let his daughter down. He just hoped that William wouldn't take his place in her heart. He hoped that she would still love him, no matter what happened.

The door swung open to reveal the chubby, blonde, timid woman from before.

"Hello, there! I'll go and get William for you, imminently!"

The woman rushed off, leaving the two on the doorstep. They waited there for a few minutes, before William came to the door, dressed in a smart, black suit with a floppy yellow tie.

"Hello, Cl...Ci...Ce..." He began.

"Cassandra."

"That's it!" He boomed, clapping his hands, "one day I'll get it right! Come on in out of the cold!"

The two stepped into the huge hallway. They removed their coats, which were taken by the chubby, blonde woman, before following William into the dining room.

The dining room was very large, with a long oak table decked with all kinds of food. There were small china bowls and plates on each of the silver placemats, various shaped wine glasses, that were shining in the light of the sunset.

"Choose a chair, make your self's at home, I'll be back in a moment," William said, before slinking off, his hands clasped behind his back.

Cassandra took a seat and Harold followed suit.

Harold still wasn't sure about William, there was something about him that he didn't like and was surprised that Cassandra hadn't picked up on yet, at first, but then he remembered that a lot of things were going through her head right now, such as trauma, lack of sleep due to threatening nightmares and a load of guilt, which would explain why she wasn't as alert as she usually was.

"You must be the daughter William's been talking about!" Came a high-pitched squeal.

The two turned to see the dirty-blonde woman from the painting. She was dressed in a fluorescent orange, sweeping dress, which touched the floor. Her hair was done up in a curly bun, that had been pinned tightly to the top of her scalp.

"Yes, my name is Cassandra." She said, standing up and shaking the woman's hand, it felt slightly cold and sharp, like a knife, "you must be Etta?"

"That's right, so nice to meet you!"

There was something about her voice that made Cassandra slightly sceptical, it sounded ever so faintly fake as if she wasn't very sure about what she was saying.

Etta glanced towards Harold, who was frowning suspiciously at her.

"And you must be Harold?" She asked, peering over Cassandra's shoulder.

"Yes." Harold grumbled, "I'm Cassandra's adoptive father."

"Ah yes, Will mentioned something about that. I hope you've raised her well, Harold." She said. There was very strange tinge in her voice.

"He has." Cassandra said defensively, frowning, not liking the patronizing tone Etta was taking with Harold.

"Good," she said, "I just need to fetch Violet, please wait."

"I don't like this, Cassandra, it's too...fake." Harold whispered when he was certain that Etta was no longer in earshot.

"I don't like her very much," Cassandra admitted, "but I still want to give William a chance."

Harold sighed.

"But what if he's not what he seems, what if he's not..."

He was interrupted by the clicks of shoes against the wooden floor, as the family came into the room. Violet, who hadn't made herself apparent until now, was with them. She was wearing a very similar dress than her mother's, but in white. Her long, dark hair was dangling in a ponytail.

"So, your the girl my father was talking about, huh?" She asked, her voice sounding far worse than Etta's, "nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." Cassandra replied, feeling awkward. Her dad was right, they did give off an air of fake-ness. She would just have to wait and see what happened. She and Harold were skilled fighters, so they could always defend themselves if they had to.

William talked with Cassandra for a while, discussing her past, all the adventures she had been on throughout the years and the friends she had made in Corona. Cassandra told them a bit about what had happened with Zhan-Tiri, but stopped after a while, memories of her revolting nightmare playing in her mind.

"I have an idea," William said, when they had all finished a desert of banana cream pie, Cassandra's favourite, "how about C.., C..., my daughter and I, go for a stroll, I'd like to show her around the area and it would be nice to catch up. Maybe I can finally remember her name!" He chuckled.

Harold felt his anxieties arise, not wanting his precious Cassandra to wonder off alone with the man he had suspicions about. Anything could happen to her. He knew that she could defend herself perfectly fine, having won more battles than she had lost, however, there had been many times where she'd been overpowered. She had been kidnapped by Marco, who used to work for Xavier, who when he had found out, had fired him on the spot, she had been captured and banished from the village: Harmony Glenn, for standing up for what she believed in, she had almost been held to ransom by the Stabbingtons, almost crushed by a robot, manipulated by Zhan-Tiri...the list went on.

What if William was planning to do something terrible to her? He would kill him if he did.

"I think I'll come with you." Harold said.

"No, no, you stay here and relax, we have some catching up to do."

"But..."

"Dad, seriously, I'll be fine. We'll be ten minutes tops." Cassandra tried to reassure him.

"That's great then! Miriam, go and grab our coats!"

A few moments later, the chubby blonde woman rushed in with Cassandra's faded blue one and William's black one in her arms.

"Here we are, sir!" She said, her voice sounding very plastic.

Cassandra thanked her, and slipped it on, doing the buttons up, while William snatched his off Miriam without a word. He was frowning at her, his eyes looking like an eagle's.

"I just need to speak to Miriam for a second, it's about the pots and pans incident, this morning," He explained, nodding at Etta.

Cassandra stared in confusion as William dragged Miriam into the hallway. Why was this "incident" important now of all times?

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Miriam was shoved into her quarters. She frowned at William.

"I've already told you that I'm not partaking in this!" She growled, "you are a horrible, sick, twisted..."

"Spare me the complements Miriam, it's too much!" William sneered, "if you are really insistent on not taking part in this plan, then why do you stay?!"

"You know that I have nowhere to go! My parents have died, I live of your wages, which may I remind you are barely enough to afford a scrap..."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't care about your sob story!" He yelled.

Miriam watched as his frustrated expression curled into a leer.

"Listen, Miriam, if you don't do exactly what I say and got through with the plan, then I will throw you out into the forest. It'll only be a matter of time until you're eaten by the wolfs."

Miriam gulped, she had an intense fear of wolves. William knew that there weren't actually any wolves in that forest, but Miriam didn't know that, she was too stupid.

"Fine, I'll help you." She uttered.

"Splendid."

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Later...

"Is he always so protective?" William asked as he and Cassandra walked down a long path.

"Yeah, he's always been protective of me," she chuckled, "when I had nightmares as a kid, I would wake up screaming and he would instantly assume that I was in some kind of danger, so he would burst into the room, armed with a sword."

She could recall the first time he had done that, and how much it had scared her, but over time she had found it hilarious and it cheered her up enough to go back to sleep again. 

Unfortunately, thinking of nightmares, brought back the painful terror she had experienced the night before, so she decided to change the subject.

"Surely your protective over Violet, right?" She asked.

"Not that protective." He grumbled in response.

"I guess he's overprotective because I'm the only family he has. We didn't realise how much we both needed each other, I was abandoned by Gothel and had no one to turn to, and he lost his parents to yellow fever when he was young, so we had both been deprived of love. His parent's death effected him really badly, though, making him really anxious around me, when I was little, wanting to protect me in any way he could. That was one of the reasons why he taught me how to defend myself, as young as he did, so that if he wasn't around to protect me, I could protect myself."

"I see." William said, not looking very interested.

They reverted back to silence again, Cassandra drowning in her suspicions more and more.

If only she knew what was to come.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Harold wandered around the large dining room, admiring how pretty it was, trying to distract himself from his worries about Cassandra, truth be told, he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

He kept glancing at the large grandfather clock, awaiting her return.

"Come on, Cassandra." He kept muttering, tempted to go out and search for her.

That was when he felt something hit him over the head. The world dissolved into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The nightmare scene was originally not supposed to be there at all, however the other night, I began to doodle a small comic about one of Cassandra's nightmares, after she defeated Zhan-Tiri and decided to include it in here. I might publish the comic soon, if people want to see it. Until next time!


	3. Reflections

Thin twigs snapped under Cassandra's shoes, as she walked. She had noticed that what was supposed to be a ten-minute walk had stretched out to almost half-an-hour. It had mostly been an uncomfortable silence, which had been occasionally interrupted by small talk, about memories.

William had told her about what he could remember from when she was a baby and then, he spoke about how he met Etta. Cassandra told him about the village of Harmony-Glen, the city of Bardaroes and the Lorb island, but soon shut-up when she noticed that William wasn't really listening to her.

"So much for catching up." She couldn't help thinking.

They walked in silence a little more, before William began to speak, almost making Cassandra jump.

"C...Ca...Ce..." He father began, having trouble with her name again.

"Cassandra."

"Yeah, whatever, I need to show you something."

His voice was hasty and slightly tense, which made Cassandra raise an eyebrow.

"What do you want to show me?" She asked, suspiciously.

"Stop sounding so worried, it's nothing bad!" He chuckled, suddenly sounding cheerful again.

Cassandra wished that she had brought her sword or one of her knives with her, she could sense that something was not quite right. Something bad was defiantly coming.  
She felt a little rush of relief when she heard a hoot from above. She looked up to see Owl, her companion, gazing down at her from a branch. He must've been out for his evening flight.

When he was an owlet, he was trained out of being nocturnal, by Harold, so that he could watch over Cassandra during the day and rest at night. While it had taken a while, Owl had eventually adopted this lifestyle and found that he liked the day better than the night, however, when he had first left to travel with Cassandra and the others in the caravan, he had found that he liked going out for an evening fly every once in a while, to stretch his wings. Cassandra was fine with this, just as long as he came back to his perch in the caravan before she went to sleep so that she knew he was safe.

"Owl!" She called, beckoning him to perch on her shoulder.

"Hm?" William muttered, turning to see the bird land on his daughter's arm, "oh, your bird has joined us, I see."

"Yep," Cassandra replied, stroking the top of Owl's head, "he just wanted to stretch his wings." 

William didn't look so pleased to see the Red Phase owl, nor vice versa. Owl had tried to protect his owner from many things in his time, including an ancient demon, so he knew when someone wasn't trustworthy, and he knew that he defiantly didn't trust William.

"Come with me." William ordered, his voice was very soft, almost like a whisper.

Cassandra followed him, glad to have her companion by her side, in case something happened.

They entered, what looked like a cave. It was pitch black inside. William picked up a stick. He pulled out a match from his pocket and lit the tip of it. The light illuminated the cave, but only a bit, it was bright enough that they could see where they were going but too dim to get a good look at their surroundings.

They walked deeper and deeper and then turned a few corners. They carried on until they reached a knackered, wooden door.

"Now I know that you've seen a lot of magic and things like that, in your years, but I would still be prepared for what you're about to see." William said.

He opened the door, and all Cassandra could see was bright, sparkling lights. She blinked rapidly, as did Owl, who draped his wing over his eyes. Eventually, the light's calmed, and Cassandra could see golden mirrors, decorated with vigorous jewels. The sight almost stole her breath away.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" William gushed.

"Yeah, they're amazing." Cassandra said, trying to hide her nervous tinge in her voice, they reminded her too much of Gothel's collection of magic mirrors. She hoped that her father didn't have the same vanity obsession that she'd had.

Owl suddenly made a loud, frightened call behind her, making her quickly turn around, her survival instincts tingling.

She wasn't expecting to come face to face with her moonstone-self.

She yelped in surprise, quickly grabbing strands of her hair and peering at them, expecting them to be a bright turquoise. To her shock and comfort, the strands were their usual ebony.

The reflection she was seeing in the mirror, wasn't real. The mirror was reflecting who she had been, not who she was now.

She looked at the mirror again and heard the reflection speak.

"Stupid girl..."

The words sent a chill down Cassandra's spine.

"...you should've listened to Zhan-Tiri, you should've killed Rapunzel when you had the chance!"

"Shut up!" Cassandra shirked, "you don't know what you're talking about!"

The reflection glared at her, its eyes glowing a bright blue.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about!" It yelled, "you should've destroyed Rapunzel."

"No I shouldn't have! Rapunzel is my best friend, I love her with all my heart, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had! None of what I did, when I was you, was Rapunzel's fault! She didn't deserve any of what I put her through, none of them did!"

"But they undermined you, they didn't care about yo..."

"Yes they did! If they didn't care about me, then I wouldn't be here now, would I? Rapunzel saved my life, none of them gave up on me!"

The reflection cackled, Cassandra, clenched her fists. She felt Owl's claws dig into her skin, he was feeling agitated. He wanted to attack the reflection, noticing that it was making his mistress anxious, however, Cassandra gave him a gentle boop on the beak, which caught his attention.

"It's alright, it's not real." Cassandra told him, "it can't hurt me."

"I may not be real, I may be just a reflection of your tragic past, to you, but don't forget that you did dreadful things and you will never escape them, you will never be truly happy or at peace with yourself, you will always be the bad guy, the girl who took the moonstone, the girl who betrayed everyone who ever loved her, the girl who..."

Cassandra couldn't take it anymore. She lurched forward and drove her fist into the glass. It shattered, peeling the skin off her hand. The back of it began to bleed, as a thick gash formed down it, her knuckles were red with bloody grazes. She leapt backwards, screaming in agony. The reflection had disappeared, leaving a dark, broken, void in its place.

William smirked from the side-line, this was his chance to strike and put the next part of his plan into action.

Cassandra rubbed as much blood off her hand, as possible, soaking her sleeve in the process.

"I'm not that girl anymore." She muttered quietly, to herself, twisting the Cassandrium necklace around her finger. Feeling its presence calmed her a bit.

Whilst she was distracted, William took his chance.

Cassandra felt something hit her over the head, and then everything went black.


	4. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! Two chapters out in a span of two days, you can tell that I have too much time on my hands at the moment, lol.

Cassandra awoke to the smell of damp. She was cold and felt like a hundred swords were scratching against her head. Her hand was very sore too, the wound still open and bleeding. Hissing in pain, she began to regain her senses and realised that she had been thrust into a dingy cell, with one, small, barred window, a cot with a lumpy mattress and a dim oil lamp, resting on a rickety table in the corner.

She stood up and examined her surroundings, memories of her nightmare seeping to her brain, making her shudder. Was this real, or just another bad dream?

The sound of squeaking drew her from her thoughts. She looked down to see a hole in the wall, with a pink nose and long whiskers peeping out of it. The sight of it brought her some warmth, since she had no fear, whatsoever of rats or mice, for that matter, in fact, she had a bit of a soft spot for them.

The maids she had to work with, back at the castle had made a huge fuss over rodents, however, Cassandra had never been afraid. She was always the one who would gently scoop it up, give it something to eat and then let it go free.

Now that she could remember a bit more of her early childhood with Gothel, thanks to Zhan-Tiri, Cassandra figured that her rodent tolerance stemmed from there. She could vaguely remember being left alone in the cottage one afternoon, when she was three, after being tasked to clean it before her mother came back. While she was sweeping out from under the cast-iron stove, she had discovered, a small, brown rat, crouched under there.

She had never seen a rat before, hence didn't know nor understood how dangerous they could be, so nothing was stopped her from scooping the rat up in her pudgy hand and talking to it. She had told it about Gothel and how much she loved her, before introducing it to her rag-doll, Ellie. She was having so much fun, chatting to the rodent and skipping around the house, showing it everything, that she hadn't noticed Gothel walk in. She had been furious, terrifying the little girl. Cassandra couldn't remember what she did to the poor rodent, but whatever it was, she was sure that it wasn't pleasant.

Cassandra touched the rusty bars on the cell door, the metal was cool and the rusty parts flaked off and felt gritty to the touch, they were unquestionably real. Maybe she wasn't dreaming after all.

But if she wasn't dreaming, where was she?

Just then she heard footsteps, coming towards her cell. They sounded like, high heels. 

"You must be terrified, waking up in a cell, with no clue about how you got there." 

"Etta?" 

"That's right." 

The woman appeared in front of the bars, smirking at the young woman, on the other side.

"Let me out of here!" Cassandra demanded. 

"Shant. Your father wants you in there."

"What? But..." 

"He doesn't love you, he never has and never will, he told me himself. His original plan was just to make you suffer, before killing you, but when he found out about the moonstone and everything, well, he got another idea." 

"What idea?" Cassandra growled.

"It's a surprise." Etta hissed, before strutting away, leaving the brunette alone, completely confused and angry.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

"I think that's everything!" Eugene sighed, stuffing the last suitcase into their brand-new caravan.

"Do we really need to take all this?" Rapunzel asked, raising an eyebrow, "we're only going for a few days, besides there is only you, me, Maximus and Pascal going."

"Yeah, but remember how often we ran out of supplies on the last trip?"

"But we were on the road for months, then."

"I just thought that we needed to prepare, that's all. What if we get stranded as we did on the Lorb island again? We have to be prepared for anything, sunshine."

"You're right," Rapunzel smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek, which Eugene responded with a warm embrace.

"Ok, I'm all ready to go!" Lance beamed, walking up to the couple, suitcase in hand.

"Lance, I thought this was only meant to be Rapunzel and me." Eugene said.

"I just really wanted to go on another trip in a caravan with you guys, it was so much fun the last time, you know, apart from getting washed up on an island, going into a creepy tree, getting captured by evil refections and some moonstone-related setbacks..."

"You just want to see Adira again, don't you?" Eugene smirked.

"What? She kept showing up all the time, last time, there could be a chance that we might see her again this time!" Lance argued, a dreamy look in his eyes.

"But, don't you have Kiera and Catalina to look after?" Asked Rapunzel.

"I really wanted to take them with me, but I was worried in case it would be too dangerous for them, so I left them with Xavier."

"Good choice, Lance, he's a good sport, the girls will love him!" Rapunzel grinned.

"Fine. You can come with us, but don't be disappointed if we don't see Adira."

"Oh, I'm sure we will love always finds a way!"

Eugene had to use all his best efforts to stop his eyes from rolling.

Lance climbed into the caravan, followed by Rapunzel. Eugene was about to mount Max's back but stopped when he heard a voice.

"Wait!"

It was Varian.

"Kiera told me that you were going on a trip. Where are you headed?"

"We just need to check if Cass is alright and warn her about something." Eugene explained, just wanting to get going already.

"Warn her about what?" Varian asked in concern.

"It's something about her father, William Barlett, he used to work for the Baron and he's not good news. We don't want Cass to get hurt so we need to warn her about him."

"William Barlett? He was like an alchemist back in the day, he used to make syrems."

"Wait, how do you know?" Eugene asked.

"He's been mentioned a couple of times in my alchemy history books. They don't say specifically what kind of syrems he did, but whatever it was, it made him a tonne of cash."

"Eugene, are we going or...oh hi Varian!" Rapunzel called, sticking her head out of the caravan window.

"Hi, Rapunzel, I was just telling Eugene about William Barlett, he used to be an alchemist. It's really cool that Cassie's dad is an alchemist!"

"Varian, he used to work for the Baron, so no it is not cool." Eugene replied.

"Anyway, since you know so much about him, would you like to come with us? We could use a guy who knows his stuff!"

"Sure, I'll go let my dad know and pack some ham sandwiches for the road!"

As Varian ran off, Eugene frowned.

"I know my stuff too, I was the one who knew that he worked for the Baron!"

"Well yeah, but if Varian knows about his past with alchemy, that could come of some use to us."

"Fair point." Eugene muttered.

A short while later, Varian came running back, a paper bag of sandwiches in hand, and a bag on his back.

"Ready!" He called, climbing into the caravan.

"Let's go!" Rapunzel cheered.

Little did they know that this would not be the quick and easy trip they expected it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've seen so many comments about how much people hate William (thank you for those btw), and because I know what's to come, and where the story is going, I don't know which villain you'll hate the most by the end, because they are all despicable in their own ways and they all torture poor Cass (I am so sorry Cass) in one way or another. Etta and William, in particular, only get worse as it goes on, I warn you.


	5. The Baron

The Baron sighed. One more day in this place was going to push him over the edge. He was recovering from the bite of the Kai spider, but it was going too slow for his liking. He wanted to get back out into the world and see his daughter again. He had been receiving letters from her, but it wasn't the same as seeing her.

Being locked in prison was partly a way of making someone feel guilty for their crimes and try to redeem themselves, turn over a new leaf, but not for the Baron. Being in prison made him more angry and vengeful than he had ever been. How could Eugene Fitzherbert, Flynn Rider, have the nerve to put him in jail, after everything he had done in his time? He had been a thieving rogue who had left his precious Stalyan at the alter!

"Hey!" Called the man guarding his cell, pulling the Baron out of his thoughts "you have a letter."

The Baron grumbled as he snatched it from him. He expected it to be from his daughter since no one else would contact him. He had lost everyone who had been in his criminal organization, so it wouldn't be any of them.

He was taken by surprise when he read the name scrawled at the bottom: Sir William Barlett.

"Now, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time." He murmured, quietly, so that the guard couldn't hear him.

He had known William for years. He had been a nerdy kid, who had an interest in science and alchemy, not unlike that stupid Varian kid. He was a bit famous in the alchemy world but craved so much more, in terms of money, so The Baron had offered him a position in his criminal organization. He lost all his fame but gained a lot of money making poisons and doing the killings of The Baron's enemies.

He worked for the Baron for many years, before taking some time off to explore the world and earn even more money. In that time, he lost contact with The Baron and the criminal organization altogether, so he had no idea what had happened to him, since then. It had been at least over twenty years.

His lips curled into a small, wicked smile, as he scanned the letter.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo, and I think I'll leave it on a cliff hanger! Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I thought that it would provide some dramatic tension. The chapters will get longer, but just not at the moment. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for the reviews I've been receiving, both on here and on Facebook, I appreciate every single one of them!  
> Now, I was worried that I was making Cassandra seem too weak, without giving a proper explanation as to why, so I hope that the brief scene with Rapunzel cleared it up a bit. It's to do with the impact trauma can have on people and how it can make you weaker and more vulnerable than you usually are, particularly when it's from an event that has occurred very recently.  
> In Cassandra's case, she has just been through something very traumatic and is still dealing with it, as well as the pressures of forgiving herself for what she did and making up for it in any way she can, so if you add everything to do with her father, and what she's been dragged into, pretty much overnight, you end up with a very emotionally exhausted person, which can result in a vulnerable person, since their emotions have taken over and broken them.  
> I hope that makes sense and doesn't just sound like me rambling, lol.


	6. Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just before we begin, I want to let you know that there will be two characters introduced in this chapter, who originate from the book: Rapunzel and The Vanishing Village, but don't worry if you haven't read it, the story will still make sense if you haven't.

About 16 Years Ago-

"Children, you need to get to bed, it's way past your bedtime." A soft-spoken, tall woman, with strawberry-blonde hair, said, as she leaned against the large window-sill. Her name was Evelyn.

Her husband, stood next to her, staring outside, as if he was looking for something, or maybe someone. His name was Jeffrey.

"But, we haven't had a bedtime story yet." A little girl with light brown, straight hair, tied in neat plaits, Stella, said, her thumb perched on the edge of her bottom lip, a sure sign that she had been sucking it.

Her twin brother, Dennis, stood next to her holding a copy of Robinson Crusoe, a hard, suspicious frown on his face. His parents barely ever missed reading them a bedtime story.

"We'll come up and read it to you in a minute, sweetheart." Jeffery replied, giving his children a warm smile.

The adults watched as their daughter smiled back at them, before snatching the book and running off. Dennis just stood there, staring at them inquisitively. There were times when Evelyn and Jeffery wished they hadn't taught their children to be so inquisitive.

"Dennis, I said we'll be up in a minute, can you please go to your room and wait for us?"

"I will, but please can I ask you something first?" Dennis replied.

"Go ahead then." His father sighed, not really in the mood for this.

"What's with all the whispering you and mother have been doing today?" The nine-year-old inquired.

Jeffery and Evelyn looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Their son's dark eyes were shining with suspicion and it made them uncomfortable.

"Dennis," Evelyn said, kneeling down in front of her son and cupping his face in her hands, "one day everything will become clear, but for now, your father and I have to keep this between ourselves, do you understand?" Her voice was firm and refused to waver, harbouring her growing worries deep inside.

"Ok," Dennis half-whispered, putting on his brave face, knowing that whatever they were hiding was most likely very serious.

Evelyn pulled him close for a moment. She gave him a tiny kiss on the cheek before sending him upstairs, promising once again that they would come up soon.

"You know, there are times when I wish that boy wouldn't ask so many questions." Jeffrey remarked.

"I know, but they're both going to have to learn the truth one day, especially if anything happens to us." Evelyn replied, solemnly, "come on, we have Robison Crusoe to read."

Jeffrey followed his wife out of the room, blowing out the candles on his way past.

Later that night, a storm arose, out of the blue, destroying the family's manor house and leaving Dennis and Stella orphaned. Those answers to his parent's whispers, Dennis was promised, would have to wait even longer.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Present day.

A loud noise shook Varian from his sleep. It sounded like something lodging itself into the outside of the caravan.

"Crud!" Came a man's voice.

He leapt out of bed and went out to the door. Shouldn't Lance be keeping watch?

He could hear the snores of Rapunzel and Eugene from the other room, and tried as hard as he could to be quiet, not wanting to wake them in case it was nothing to worry about.

He walked outside, closing the door behind him. He shivered, feeling wet grass between his toes, where it had rained earlier that night. He hated that feeling.

He heard snoring coming from the other side of the caravan. He went around to investigate and wasn't surprised in the slightest, to see Lance pressed up against the wooden wall, fast asleep. Varian rolled his eyes, before beginning to scour the outside of the caravan, in search of whatever had hit it.

It didn't take long to notice an arrow, lodged in the wall, next to the window, it was a miracle it hadn't gone through it.

"Hey, kid, can you chuck that back to me, please?" Came a gruff voice from the trees.

"Who are you?" Varian inquired.

A man stepped out from the undergrowth. He had a mop of dark, brown hair, with matching eyes, his chin had stubble all over it, and he was dressed in a torn shirt, with brown shorts, that looked very old.

"My name's Wolf." He said.

"That's a peculiar name."

"I know, but I don't want to talk about that now, please just give me the arrow and I'll be out of your hair."

"But it hit our caravan, it could've caused some serious damage!" Varian exclaimed.

"I know, and I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to cause any harm," Wolf replied, sounding honestly quite sincere, "listen, kid, I'm on a mission and I really need to get going. I was just out trying to hunt some food down. I don't really have time for..."

"What mission?" Varian interrupted, handing the arrow back to him.

"I'm looking for a girl."

Varian stared him up and down.

"Well good luck with that."

"No, I don't mean it like that," Wolf groaned, smacking his face with his palm, in frustration "I'm looking for a girl, who's horse I saw, outside a tent. Apparently, she left with her dad and never came back. The horse tried to lead me to where it last saw her, and I'm trying to find out where she is now."

Varian frowned. A horse outside a tent? A girl who left with her dad and never came back? Surely it wasn't...?

"What does the horse look like?"

"Light brown fur, black mane, with blue eyes and long eyelashes."

That sounded just like Cass' horse.

"Fidella." Varian muttered.

Wolf looked at him in confusion.

"How did you know?"

Varian looked up at Wolf with wide eyes, overwhelmed by the feeling of realization.

"I..I...think we're looking for the same girl." He stuttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the short chapter! It will get longer once more action starts to happen, but at the moment I'm trying to build tension.  
> Thank you again for the reviews, I'm really glad that you're all enjoying the story!


	7. We have a Barlett to visit

A tall woman, with strawberry-blonde hair, pinned back in a complicated bun, picked up a crumpled letter from a jail floor and examined it.

She'd heard that there had been a break-in the night before, causing many wanted criminals to escape, including the Baron, who was apparently the worst out of them all. The guards were either unconscious or killed, meaning whoever had broken them out, was dangerous.

She uncrumpled the letter, and scanned it, her large, dark eyes, widening.

"William." She uttered, in a harsh whisper, "I should've suspected."

"Did you find anything, sweetie?" Her husband asked, walking in.

"Yes." She replied, holding up the letter, "it looks like, we have a certain Barlett to visit."

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Rapunzel was awoken by the laughter of Eugene and Varian, from outside the caravan. It was nice to hear it, honestly, in the light of everything that was happening.

She got dressed and went outside, smiling, when she saw, the boys sitting around a fire, frying eggs for breakfast. She scanned the group and saw a man who she hadn't seen in a long time. 

"Wolf! Oh my gosh! I was not expecting to see you here!" She yelled, yanking him into a hug. 

"Hey, Rapunzel," Wolf chuckled, gently shifting out of the hug, "I've come to help with the search of Cassandra." 

Rapunzel looked dumbfounded. 

"How did you know?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. 

Wolf explained how he was out, exploring, taking a trip from his home in the village of Harmony Glen, when he came across Fidella, near, which turned out to be Cassandra and her dad's tent. After a very long and difficult game of horse charades, he got the gist of what was going on: Cassandra had left to go somewhere with her dad and hadn't come back. 

"I think Fidella knows where she could be, so she's going to take us there." 

"Good," Rapunzel smiled, giving him another hug, which he was forced to endure, (like Cass, he wasn't a huge fan of hugs, liking his personal space.), "it's great to see you again."

"Good morning, sunshine," Eugene grinned, pulling her from the conversation. He placed an egg on a plate, and handed it to her. She thanked him with a kiss on the cheek. 

Whilst they ate, they tried to keep up the conversation, but as the time to set off grew closer, they were practically silent, all thinking about Cass and what they were going to find on their journey.

As they were putting out the fire, Eugene sensed that Rapunzel was becoming more and more nervous. 

"Are you alright?" He asked, putting his arm around her.

"Not really, I'm worried about Cass."

"Me too, but remember, she's a tough one, she's a dragon lady, she'll be ok."

"I know, but she's been through a lot recently and I'm worried that William might take advantage of that."

"How do you mean?"

"Cass, is struggling with everything that went on with Zhan-Tiri and the moonstone. She's told me about those nightmares she's been having, how scared she feels, how she's trying to move on and find herself but keeps getting held back by what she's done." Rapunzel explained, "I'm afraid that William might take advantage of her fear, and could use it to hurt her."

Eugene glared, clenching his fists.

"If he lays one finger on her, he'll regret it. The only guy who's allowed to mess with Cass is me."

"Then, we better get moving." Rapunzel said, softly.

Varian, Wolf and Lance climbed into the caravan, as Eugene and Rapunzel sat on the driver's seat. Butterflies were fluttering around each of their stomachs, as the caravan began to move, Max pulling it along, with Fidella, leading the way. 

"She'll be ok, Rapunzel, I promise." Eugene muttered, feeling Rapunzel tense beside him.  
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************<

Etta peered into Cassandra's cell. 

The brunette replied with a glare, folding her arms across her chest. She was perched on the end of the rickety bed, having just woken up, from very poor night sleep. She wasn't in the mood to be taunted by Etta's annoying voice of all things. She gripped her handmaiden shawl, tied around her arm, wishing that she had the Cassandrium with her, for further comfort. 

"You're very glum this morning," Etta acknowledged, in a horrible sickly-sweet voice, "did you get out on the wrong side of the bed?" 

"Leave me alone," Cassandra groaned. 

"It's so funny to think that you're the one who took the moonstone, who tried to kill everyone, who kidnapped the alchemist, who worked for Zha..."

"I said, LEAVE ME ALONE!" Cassandra roared, leaping up from the bed and glaring daggers at the woman.

She knew what she had done, she knew how much harm she had caused and felt dreadful about it all, she didn't need to be reminded of it. 

"Fine, if you don't want any breakfast." Etta smirked, beginning to walk away. 

"No, no, no, wait! Wait!" Cassandra cried. She hadn't eaten anything in hours and her stomach was killing her. 

"I'm sorry, but you told me to leave you alone, I'm just respecting your privacy." She sneered. 

With that, Etta left, leaving Cassandra alone and hungry.


	8. The Prisoner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have edited chapter four because I wasn't very happy with it. There's no major changes or anything like that, but I thought that would be important to share. 
> 
> This is going to be a short chapter because the next chapter is going to be very long and exciting and this is like a build-up to it in someways.

Chapter 9: 

Wolf, Lance and Varian were gathered around a table, in the caravan, trying to focus on their game of rock, paper scissors. On the upside, it was keeping them distracted, on the long journey, but on the downside, Lance was getting on everyone’s nerves.

“Lance, for the last time, a karate chop cannot be used in a game called: ROCK PAPER SCISSORS!” 

“Yes it can, little guy, I think you’ll find that you have no imagination!” 

“But…” 

Wolf buried his head in his hands, huffing. 

“Can we just play a different game, if you guys are just going to cheat and argue?” 

“How about, snap!” Lance suggested. 

“No, you always cheat at that game too!” Varian protested.

“How can you cheat at snap? How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, ask him!” Varian replied, pointing at Lance.

Lance was about to reply, until, there was an almighty THWACK! 

Lance screamed and the caravan pulled to a jolting halt. 

“Is everyone ok, I thought I heard a child scream,” Rapunzel asked, walking in. 

“I think that was probably Lance,” Eugene said, from behind her. 

“Guys!” Wolf called, “come and look at this!” 

“What is it?” Rapunzel asked, as she, followed by Eugene, Lance and Varian, walked over to him. 

Wolf pointed at the window, in front of them, where a familiar-looking owl, was squashed up against the glass. 

“Owl!” Rapunzel exclaimed, opening the window, hurriedly. 

She scooped him up, expecting him to imminently fly out of her arms since he wasn’t a big fan of being held unless it was by Cassandra, but he didn’t. He just lay there, breathing heavily, staring up at her, helplessly. 

It didn’t take very long until Rapunzel noticed that the poor thing was covered in cuts and bruises. Blood had dried on his feathers and beak. 

“Quick, we need a place for him to lie down,” Rapunzel ordered, “he’s hurt!” 

While Varian, Wolf and Lance, set up a place for Owl to rest, as well as some food and drink, Rapunzel tried to find some ointment. 

Eugene felt his blood boil, for the poor thing. 

“If Owl is in this state, then maybe Cass might be in danger too." 

“We’ve just got her back and now we could lose her again!” She cried. 

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, she'll be ok. We just need to keep following Fidella and we'll hopefully find her.” 

Varian lay Owl down on his bed, keeping him comfortable with pillows and cushions. Pascal sat next to his friend, trying to keep him company. 

“We’ll keep an eye on Owl,” the young alchemist said, “he should be fine, none of his injuries are serious.”

Rapunzel gave Varian a thankful nod, before heading back to the horses, along with Eugene. 

“Don’t worry, Cass, we’re coming.” 

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” The strawberry-blonde woman asked her husband, as they crawled on their hands and knees through tunnels, deep, deep, underground.

“Oh come on, I used to go through these tunnels all the time, when Barlett first, built this place, I know what I’m doing!”

The woman rolled her eyes and held her lamp higher, trying to see through the dark haze that surrounded them. Her husband was in another one of his moods, not that she could really blame him though, with everything they'd been through thus far in their lives, with no sign of it getting better, 

“Look!” He called, suddenly, “we can go through that!”

The woman looked to where her spouse was pointing. Her eyes met with a large vent opening.

“Wait a moment,” she uttered peering in closer. She could see that it lead down to a cell, with someone inside it.

“Hello!” She called. 

The prisoner looked up, a surprised look on their face. 

“Hello?” they called back up. 

“Are you a prisoner of William Barlett?” The woman asked. 

The prisoner nodded. 

“Yes, but no one seems to be guarding me.” They said.

“William was always too tight to hire people,” her husband muttered. 

“Well, we’ve come to rescue you,” the woman said, delving into her purse, “any prisoner of William Barlett is a friend of ours.” 

She pulled out a long rope, while her husband yanked the vent cover off, creating a large hole in the ceiling of the prisoner’s cell. She dangled the string down the hole, allowing the prisoner to climb up it, while they pulled with all their might from the other end. 

“Thank you,” The prisoner said, dusting themselves off, “though, I have to ask, who are you and why are you here? Why are you crawling around tunnels in this place, have you escaped William as well?” 

“Look, it’s a long story,” the woman said, “we’ll talk about it later, there’s so much to explain, all you need to know for now is our names. I’m Evelyn and this is my husband, Jeffrey.” 

“Nice to meet you, Evelyn and Jeffrey, my name is Harold.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I want to ask, who thought that prisoner was going to be Cass? I felt so mean writing that part, I'm so sorry! 
> 
> The next two chapters will be really long and will hopefully cover more ground about what's going on in this crazy story, lol, so stay tuned for those, after the next part of Varian's Revenge.


	9. Not a chapter-Update

Hey, I just needed to let you guys know that I am going to be changing some stuff in this story. I was finding it hard to write the next chapter and I realised that it was because of the Baron subplot, it was getting in the way of everything and making the dark magic plot make no sense.  
I also took Karen out of the story, because I realised when reading the story back through, that she didn't fit anywhere. Apart from that, the story isn't really going to change much, I think the Baron will still be in it, but not as a main villain.

I hope you guys don't mind this change. I thought that they were really necessary because I was getting so lost and stressed out. The plot seemed so overly complicated and honestly, I was really struggling with it. 

Thank you to all of you for understanding.


	10. She Needs Your Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for over 1000 hits, that's crazy!!! I almost had a heart attack when I woke up and saw that, lol! 
> 
> I also wanted to thank you all for waiting so patiently for the next update. Long story short, I had writers block for this story and despite knowing what was going to happen next, I just couldn't put it into words, so I left it for a bit and came back, so hopefully the wait paid off.

Cassandra looked up at an enraged Rapunzel, who was glaring down at her, teeth gritted.

"You hurt me, Cassandra, you hurt Eugene, you hurt my parents, you hurt Varian, you hurt everyone! Everything is your fault!" She shrieked.

Cassandra couldn't hold back her tears any longer, the younger girl's words piercing through her, like the sharpest knife in her weapons closet.

"Rapunzel, I'm so, so, so sorry!" She sobbed, "you don't have to forgive me, none of you do, but I just want you to know that I am truly sorry. I didn't want to to hurt any of you, I promise."

"It's not enough, Cassandra! It'll never be enough, ever! You've blown all your chances!"

With that, she disappeared, leaving Cassandra alone.

Cassandra began choking on her own sobs, hugging her knees close, burying her head into them.

She didn't blame Rapunzel, she didn't blame any of them. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself either.

She looked up for a moment, only to find herself inside...her mother's cottage?

Tethers grasped her wrists and bound her to a post. She squirmed around with all she had, pulling at the chains, forcefully. She didn't even notice that she was still crying.

"Oh, don't worry dear, I did the exact same thing to my flower, to keep her in line."

It was her mother.

Gothel.

"Now, now, darling, calm down, it's alright, mother's here." She cooed, running her hand over Cassandra's scalp, stroking her hair, in mock-comfort. 

"No, no, no, get away from me, get awammmmmph!"

Gothel tied a cloth, tightly around the girl's mouth, before kneeling down in front of her and flicking the tears from her damp cheeks.

"Shhhh, now," she hushed, with fake tenderness, "all of this, is as it should be. This is your place, Cassandra, here with your mummy and your real daddy."

Cassandra saw William come into view, a foul grin on his face.

"We're going to help you," Gothel continued, "now that Rapunzel and everyone else has given up on you, it's time for you to become, who you were always meant to be."

"Nmmm!"

Yes. Now, mummy is just going to put this back in it's rightful place," Gothel grinned, holding up the shining moonstone in front of Cassandra.

The young woman struggled, as her mother came closer. She was grabbed and held down, her body pinned atop of the wooden floor, her head leaning against the wooden post, where her arms remained bound. 

"Keep still, Cassandra!" Gothel scolded.

Excruciating pain embedded in her chest and all she could do was scream at the top of her lungs until she finally blacked out.

**********************************************************************************************************************

Cassandra bolted upright. Her tongue was wet with blood, from where she had bitten it, in an attempt to hold In her shrieks. Her face was stained with tears, her hair was sticking up all over the place and her heart was banging like a drum.

She was pushed back down by a strong hand and held there.

"She's awake, at last." A voice growled. It seemed strangely familiar to Cassandra, but in her drowsy state, she couldn't pinpoint why. 

"Good, strap her down." 

Cassandra felt something thick, clasp around her left wrist, rubbing against the scars of her formerly burnt hand. She was instantly reminded of the shackles that had bound her to that post in her nightmare and tried to struggle against it, only to find that her muscles were too weak. She felt as if someone had drugged her.

"You're probably very confused right now, Cassandra." William sneered, coming into her blurry vision.

She was, she couldn't deny that. 

"But don't worry my dear, everything will become clear, soon."

How soon? How much longer did she have to wait, until she found out the answer to what was happening? 

"Very soon." William said, as if he could read her thoughts, "for now...." 

He held up a glass bottle against the cut she had received from the mirror and poured half of it's contents onto it. He spilled the other half over her burn scars. The liquid only stung a tiny bit, but didn't seem to have much effect on her. 

"Now, just relax and wait." 

It was at that moment that her hands began to tingle. 

**********************************************************************************************************************

The caravan pulled up beside a large, mansion, overlooking the trees, in front of it. 

"Is this the place, girl?" Rapunzel asked Fidella. 

Fidella whined, anxiously.

"It's ok, Fidella," Eugene said, stroking her mane. 

Max gave the mare, a small, comforting nudge, that she returned. 

"Owl's on the mend," Varian announced, stepping out of the caravan, followed by Lance and Wolf, "we can leave him in there, Pascal's taking good care of him."

"Good and thank you all for helping," Rapunzel said, kindly. 

The group, along with Max and Fidella, trailed up the garden path, towards the front door. 

The knocker, in shape of a wild bear, seemed to glare at them with it's glowing, glass eyes. Eugene was hesitant to touch it at first, in case it sprung out and attacked him. With all the crazy things he'd seen and been through, the last few years, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised. 

The door opened slowly and a chubby woman, with long hair, peered through the crack. 

"Can I help you?" She asked. 

"Yes, we're friends of Cass..." 

"Shhh!" The woman hushed. 

Eugene and Rapunzel looked at each other in confusion, as the woman scanned the area around them. 

"Come," she finally said, "I'll take you through the servant's entrance." 

She lead them down to a dreary, dank kitchen and instructed them to sit at the tiny table. 

"The horses will have to wait outside. The master has so many, no one will notice them." 

Rapunzel took a seat, next to Eugene, watching closely as the woman pulled something made up of purple, pink and blue beads, out of her apron pocket.

"The Cassandrium!" Varian yelled.

"The master was going to throw it out, but I rescued it, before he could," the woman explained, "here." 

Rapunzel took it in her palm and stroked it's smooth pellets, feeling tears brew in her eyes. Eugene quickly threw his arm around her shoulder, his own tears beginning. 

"Does that mean she's..." she begun. 

The woman seemed to understand what she meant imminently and shook her head. 

"Oh, heavens no! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She gabbled, fetching them both hankies, "she isn't dead, but she needs your help." 

She delved into her apron pocket, once again, and retrieved a piece of crumpled parchment. 

"What's that?" Wolf asked, cocking his brow. 

"Pass it around and see for yourself." 

Rapunzel and Eugene were the first to read it and when they did, they felt their hearts drop down to their stomachs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can really say, is poor Cass, but I can't say that things will get much better for her, in the next chapter. I mean, at least she gets some company.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that you've enjoyed the first chapter! There is definitely more to come, so stay tuned! Comments are appreciated :)


End file.
